Saturday. December 24, 2010.
The temperature falls several degrees below freezing point, covering the surroundings in plain white. This is paired with the apricot sky as the sun tries to exit from it in about half an hour— a view that the fifteen-year-old Dawn adored looking. From the window where she's peeking, Christmas is just right around the corner, in just a few hours exactly. It's her third time spending Christmas at the UM orphanage. When she should have been used to it by now, her heart still carries the story of abandonment she experienced and could not deny that it still aches, how she ended up being in the orphanage.
The U Matter orphanage sits at the heart of the small little town in Hearthstone. Its regulations include that kids who are over fifteen years old can no longer be adopted, enough to make Dawn's heart a bit hopeless as she's turning fifteen in the following year.
She pulled her face nearer to the window and she puffs, creating a mist on a certain portion of the glass window. Her slim little fingers move lightly across that spot, scribbling something that seems to be her wish for this year's Christmas and it could be read as "family".
Her distracted thoughts went away with the mist as it got dissolved by the gush of wind coming from the other window as she felt a light tap on her shoulder. It was Dexie, one of the college volunteers from Hearthstone University, a local university that's nearby. It has been almost three months since these college students did volunteer work at the UM orphanage. In that particular span of time, they taught kids mostly on academe, touching on mathematics, literature, arts and music.
Dexie and her partner Ashlyn were assigned to prepare the children for their song performance for the Christmas eve party. They have been practicing for days.
"Dawn, hey.. What's on your mind?" Dexie asked the young girl.
"Nothing much actually," Dawn quickly said as she turned around.
Dexie thought there's something to make sense with Dawn's reply but chose not to try asking what that is. The entire orphanage choir is waiting for them as they still need to wrap up with the rehearsals for tonight's performance at the party.
"Let's go, the practice is about to resume," she said and her hand held that of Dawn's. Dawn just nodded while being dragged.
Dawn dissolved into a group of orphanage kids composing the choir team in the practice room. She placed herself next to Alex and Martin, two of her best boys who are just around her age. Martin has already turned fifteen last month and that's how he kissed the adoption papers goodbye, Alex being the same age as Dawn.
In the far left corner of the room stood Kyla and Mich, girls who are also around Dawn's age and who are also her roommates. They are also fifteen and still have a chance as thin as Dawn's in terms of adoption.
"So, what are your thoughts about singing Amazing Grace for at least ten times a day for several days and not getting sick of it?" Martin whispered his complaint to Dawn who had just arrived.
She could be seen stifling a laugh as it's something she can relate to but just just chose to become silent about it since complaining would offend the college volunteers, she thought. That aside, she's definitely also tired from singing the song over and over again for the last couple of days.
"Shut it up, Martin," Alex instead responded beside Dawn while maintaining a sullen look, "if one of those volunteers hears you, they will regret doing charity work to a group of ungrateful orphanage kids."
